Three dozen people have been indicted on charges of racketeering and other offenses for their alleged roles in a sophisticated heroin distribution network in Camden with ties to two notoriously dangerous street gangs, state authorities announced today.Star-Ledger file photo

TRENTON — Three dozen people have been indicted on charges of racketeering and other offenses for their alleged roles in a sophisticated heroin distribution network in Camden with ties to two notoriously dangerous street gangs, state authorities announced today.

The Attorney General’s Office said the network was dealing up to tens of thousands of dollars in heroin per week and used violence to protect four open-air drug markets it controlled in the city, routinely ranked as one of the most dangerous and crime-ridden in the country.

Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa said in a statement the take down of the drug ring, which occurred in May, and now the indictments put a dangerous organization out of business.

"By identifying this large, well-organized criminal enterprise and targeting the organization from top to bottom with a first-degree racketeering indictment, we’re taking strong aim at the drug dealing that is fueling violence and destroying the lives of residents," Chiesa said.

The indictment, handed up by a Mercer County grand jury Jan. 9 and unsealed today, charged the alleged senior leader of the network, Noel Gonzalez, 43, of Camden, and his alleged partner, Michael Rivera, 29, of Camden, with first-degree leader of a drug trafficking network.

If convicted, the pair faces life in prison including 25 years without parole. The 39-count indictment charged all 36 defendants with racketeering and second-degree conspiracy. Twenty-five defendants were also charges with drug distribution or possession with intent to distribute.

Many of the defendants also face various second- and third-degree drug charges.

The network allegedly functioned through a hierarchy of leadership. "Case workers" served as managers coordinating the enterprise’s drug sales while on duty, authorities said, handing out heroin bundles to lower-level "set managers" and returning proceeds to Gonzalez and Rivera.

A heroin bundle contained 14 bags of heroin sold for $10 each, or $140 total, the office said. Gonzalez and Rivera would allegedly be returned $100 from each bundle, case workers kept $10 and set managers and "trappers," who conducted the hand-to-hand drug deals, kept $30 to split.

The heroin was sold with stamps including "A+," "Major League," "Hot Party," "El Tiger" and "Ice Cream," in the area surrounding 4th and Royden streets, the office said.

Authorities in May issued arrest warrants for 41 people in connection with the network and charges are pending against those not included in the indictment, the office said. Arrest warrants were issued Jan. 9 for seven additional people not part of the original sweep.

Deputy Attorney General Andrew Johns presented the case to the grand jury. The investigation, dubbed "Operation Billboard," was led by the state Division of Criminal Justice in partnership with federal immigration officials, State Police, the county prosecutor and Camden police.